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Jayhan slowly became aware that he was being jostled as he lay in the dark. His first thought was that he was late getting up and someone was shaking him awake. His mind galvanised into action, in his fear that he might get into trouble for sleeping in too long. But as he tried to heave himself upward, he realised he had it all wrong. The jostling was not someone waking him, his limbs were restricted and could not respond to his wish to move … and it was as dark as midnight. He didn’t persist in struggling to rise. He dropped back and lay in the dark, trying to make sense of his situation.
He could feel a tight pressure around his hands and ankles and realised they were bound. He could smell a damp, earthy, leaf mouldy odour around him but he could see no light through a cloth coverin
